It seems that during the 2020 lockdown, there was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and a lot of people were led, and inspired, to write worship songs. We have now done this for a few people near and far, sometimes in person, sometimes remotely. Email/Whatsapp/Zoom are all good tools which we never used to have for this sort of thing.
Now, everybody is different. We speak to and help people regardless of their experience. Whether they’ve been a worship leader for the last 20+ years, or are just starting out, and have nothing more than a few phrases on a piece of paper to work with. Or maybe you’re not ready to take the plunge yet, and you’re just looking for a bit of friendly advice? We do that too, Matt is always happy to make new friends and waffle on about music production, regardless of whether you want to use our services or not!
So how does the process work?
Communication is the basis of any healthy realtionship, so firstly, we will talk to, or message you if you prefer, to gauge what stage of the process you are at, and where you see your project going. From this information we will see where you need our skills to achieve your goal, and how we can help you get there – Maybe you already know exactly what you want, and just need the facilities to get your song recorded and mixed to a professional standard. Or maybe you have no idea where to start and need your hand held throughout the process. That’s OK. Everyone has to start somewhere, and it might as well be with some professional help. Besides, it’s fun to learn and find out you are more capable than you thought you were. 🙂
Next, we will look to give you a short sample of what we can do with some of your own material, to give you an idea of how it will all turn out. A sort of “try before you buy,” kinda thing. If you’re happy with how it sounds, we will outline the different options available to meet your requirements within your budget.
Budget
*Also see basic package
If you can’t afford a big budget with a 40 piece gospel choir, a full concert orchestra and Celine Dion singing backing vocals for you, don’t worry. There are ways and means to fit any budget. If you can afford that, and want all the bells and whistles, then it’s something that can be arranged – we can get our hands on all sorts of instruments, equipment and musicians. Could we get Celine? Maybe. It depends on whether she’s forgiven Matt for the incident with the soup…*
Producing music with modern technology can make a project very cost effective. For example, backing vocals can be added to a track relatively simply and quickly (and therefore inexpensively), using a previously recorded lead vocal line and some clever software. In fact this is commonly done all the time on pop records you will have heard, even by well known artists, such as Katy Perry, (it’s all over Roar, for example), so rest assured, the result won’t sound cheap. The old fashioned way is available too if you want it, and it involves arranging for a couple of vocalists, (or yourself and friends), to come in to the studio for an afternoon and record layer, upon layer, upon layer of lush backing vocals.
And it’s the same with musical instruments. Some of us can’t personally play the violin, but we can program a virtual one. We also know lots of very talented musicians, including a few real violinists, some of whom have played for the world renowned Hallé Orchestra, and some who are awesome, folk musicians, so whether it’s the best irish jig you’ve ever heard, or something akin to Nigel Kennedy, again you’re not short of options.
Musicians
Session musicians generally charge a fair bit for their time, and that’s often the most expensive part of production. However, we have studio regulars who play several common instruments to a high standard, meaning lower charges for sessions than would normally be the case. How? Well it’s our studio anyway, our instruments are there to hand, along with our gear, set up ready to go, and in Matt’s case, he does the bulk of the recording as well. Don’t think this is any form of compromise though, our regulars are very talented people. For example, JP is our very own answer to Celine Dion, and has been featured on TV. Our in house jazz drummer has been flown out to Canada specially for his chops before now, and our lovely folk duo are both multi multi instrumentalists with special bits of paper from music exam boards and universities. with their names on. With this in mind, we offer a basic package that will give you the best value in terms of a radio ready, finished product, and one that can be added to and developed further, at a later date, if you wish.
Basic Package
Firstly, this is for composing and producing music to go with a full set of lyrics. Help with lyrics is available, but is a bespoke service because of it’s nature.
The basic package consists of:
Writing the music, (chords and melody or additional/counter melody)
Composing the arrangement with your vocal and 3 virtual instruments.
The recording includes:
- A basic, looped beat
- A bass line
- A choice of 2 main instruments, normally piano/organ and guitar.
- In the case of keyboards, woodwind, strings, brass etc. this will normally be virtual
- In the case of guitars, it will be real instruments (most virtual guitars aren’t good enough yet)
You are not limited to the instruments mentioned above, so if decide you want a theremin and a set of bagpipes instead, well that’s between you and your hearing aid, but we reserve the right to suggest alternative, and slightly less torturous options 😀
Anyhow, what you end up with is a broadcast quality track, suitable for release on any platform (streaming, mp3, CD etc.).
- This is priced at £300 per song, upto a track length of 5 minutes.
*All references to Celine Dion are purely fictional, and only used for humourous purposes. In any case, I’ve lost her phone number…
